Welcome to my personal blog

I'm Nina and my main interests are personal development, people and relationships, food, sustainability, spirituality or consciousness, ethics, nature and environment. That's a heavy list! But I try to keep it light.

Here I write about important and interesting stuff like food and feelings. The food is nut-free and vegan. The feelings can be anything, for that's what feelings do.

I write about ideas and insights. I like writing because it helps me to get my thoughts clear, but I also wish for my writings to be of value to others. My intention is always to write something valuable!

I am Dutch, situated in the Netherlands and 25 years old. I am currently studying Environmental Sciences, but I'm mostly practising being me.

My approach to clothing is changing! I started to use the principles of the capsule wardrobe. Many bloggers have gone before me, but now is my time to join in. Simply put, I want pretty, sustainable and ethically made clothes; I want to be happy with my clothes; I want to buy less miss-buys (that make me unhappy); and I want my clothes to go together better so to more easily make stunning outfits. Also, I want to have proper clothes for all occasions and, you know, for me.

My old approach

For some years I’ve been aware of the many ethical problems in the fashion industry. However, I used to simply withdraw from the conversation, because I hardly bought new clothes. I just set out to ‘use up’ the clothes I already owned (mostly gathered in my teen years and early 20s – I’m 25 years-old now) and supplement with new-to-me second-hand items. And okay, I would get some new organic cotton or otherwise okay basics occasionally. And sometimes something else new when I felt that it would help me look okay and deal with my wardrobe situation, but rarely.

All went fine for a while, but now comes the time when I want to dress well. This has to do with me transitioning from girl into woman and from student into working adult. I simply want to dress my age and express myself as I am. Not as my clothes from my teenage years. And of course, second-hand items can be anything and that’s great, but I also just want to allow myself to look good – without feeling guilty about it.

At this point I feel as if something has to change. Many of my old clothes trigger feelings of guilt in me. I can feel guilty or bad about not being able to successfully choose clothes for myself, about making bad decisions. This current closet situation reminds me of all my miss-buys, of the money I spent on it, of the resources used to produce and transport them, of the energy I personally spent and spend on my appearance and on how often I am not satisfied. I have a full closet but most items I don’t like to wear (anymore) yet don’t dare to throw out because of ethical reasons and my personal story. Maybe I can wear them again some time and be happy. Maybe I can learn to be less insecure and vain and just be happy with what I have and how I look.

I now realise that I can do something about this! I think that the capsule wardrobe approach can help me to manage my wardrobe.

Previously I wasn’t interested in the capsule wardrobe approach. It occurred to me as if following it would mean that I’d have to throw out a lot of clothes, because they do not fit the criteria. This does not strike me as sustainable at all. Even if you donate your clothes, changes are that no one will use them again – but you if you decide to keep them and take ownership. This can be done through combining the non-perfect items smartly, right?

Now I see that the capsule wardrobe approach helps with exactly that! It helps you to gain more clarity on your style, on which items go well together and on which new items would make a great contribution to your current collection of clothes, so to prevent miss-buys. It also helps you to get a better overview of the clothes you own and of outfit possibilities, helping you to pick awesome outfits more easily. This can save quite some hassle and confusion in the morning.

The capsule wardrobe

The capsule wardrobe is explained in books and on loads of weblogs. I got my information from several weblogs (mostly UnFancy), which works fine. This means that I do not have all the deets so I will not tell you all. As always, I will just share my own findings.

The general idea of the capsule wardrobe is this: for each season of three months one uses a capsule wardrobe existing of a limited number of clothing items. The number of 37 items appears to be used by many people. These items are chosen before the season starts, meaning that the capsule wardrobe and its outfits are thoroughly planned.

During the season one uses only the clothes of the capsule wardrobe. This allows for: having a clear overview of the clothes one can wear; having a neat, well-organised closet; being aware of which items go well with which items; being creative with your clothes! Using only a small amount of clothing items challenges you to get creative. You are less likely to get overwhelmed from all the options and more likely to actually find new combos that work well! Or so I am imagine.

The clothes that are not in your capsule wardrobe of the current season one keeps in storage. These clothes can be used in other seasons. Also, the capsule wardrobe does not have to include underwear, accessories, pyjamas, lounge wear and sports wear. These items don’t count as one of the # items and you are free to use what you like. This is convenient, since use of accessories works well to get more variation in your outfits.

What is included in your capsule wardrobe? Tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, jackets and coats. An example of 37 items, as given here by Caroline of UnFancy, is: 9 pairs of shoes, 9 bottoms, and 15 tops, 2 dresses and 2 jackets/coats. She adds: ‘To me it feels generous yet minimal.’Read More

Here’s an observation: Is it so that media, including bloggers and vloggers, are more about quantity than quality? Meaning the quantity of updates, blogs, vlogs, articles, references and most of all: the quantity of readers and the money that can be made through these readers. This is quite a negative view, but I am seriously concerned about it.

I get it: in order to be financially independent one needs to generate income. Writers and vloggers would like to earn money through doing what they love. My problem is that I don’t see the big picture anymore. I wonder: how many people are writers, social media managers, bloggers and vloggers these days? And how many people are willingly reading or viewing their products and for how many people does this actually contribute to their well-being?

The mentioned ‘producers’ aim to contribute to the lives of their users, but it occurs to me as if that aim easily becomes secondary to the aim of gaining readers and followers and obtaining personal benefits like money, certain privileges and ego-boosts. This results in more and more rather empty posts and updates and less high quality content.

Is it okay to feed followers irrelevant or empty content?

This disturbs me because I regard time and energy as valuable. Many ‘producers’ seem to assume that it’s okay to feed their followers very irrelevant or empty posts. Doesn’t this lead to an internet full of junk? And to worn-out and numb followers with a mind full of irrelevant stuff? (Often posts are about physical stuff one can buy but does not need. There posts generally contribute to feeding our cravings and making us unhappy, really.)

And doesn’t this lead to worn-out bloggers and vloggers?! I learnt that 2018 will be the year of the vlogger burn out. They get burnt out because of the high pressure they sense from YouTube. Seriously.

I know that I am very critical and a little cynical, but it is a simple observation. Do you observe the same? Do you regard this as a problem?

Moreover, are there solutions to this? Can a solution be to group together and produce content from communities instead of per individual? So instead of having personal blogs, to have community blogs – or blog communities? This way there’s less pressure on individual writers! (Kinda like good old newspapers and magazines!)

With so many bloggers around, it would be great to have blog communities!

I think that readers and followers can also be more conscious of how they spend their time and of what they expect from bloggers. No? I personally do not follow blogs, but I used to when I was a teenager. I remember to like it when bloggers posted often. But now that there are so many bloggers and blogs around, much more than ten years ago, maybe it would be quite easy and nice to have ‘rotation systems’ or so.

This would totally lead to and require a different mindset, though. Which would be great too! Less competition and more community, hooray!

About my blog: it has the general purpose of contributing to increasing reader’s consciousness and well-being. Most of my blog posts are written with this clear intention! I prefer to not pressure myself into writing or posting stuff regularly, but instead to let it come naturally. However, I do sense some pressure to post at least monthly. Also, I regard writing here as a good practice for my writing skills and general personal development.

Share your blogs!
Here’s a request: Please – if you dare!- share your own blogs and the ones you follow! It’d be great if you could write why you like certain blogs, or what you seek in a blog. I’d like to learn more about readers and bloggers and to get to know more like-minded people’s blogs! Maybe we can start a blog community. 🙂

Also, I just used the hashtag #consciousblogging. I may just have invented it!

In my surroundings many people have become aware of the impact of ‘stuff‘. This awareness was raised by among others the documentary Minimalism (available on Netflix) and recent research in which was found that the role of stuff in causing climate change is very large. Simply put, the production and transportation of stuff contributes to climate change and other environmental problems, like pollution. Moreover, to produce stuff, many people work in unhealthy working environments for too little money. Very simply put: a lot is wrong in the world.

It occurs to me as if many people find ‘de-stuffing‘ to be the answer: throwing away stuff you do not want or use anymore. The benefits include that your house gets more spacious, which allows for a clearer mind also. Less stuff equals less distractions from whatever you want to be doing or not be doing. I can totally see that.

The stuff you throw away can be given away to second-hand shops or charity, so that others may use it. That way, others can get your stuff for free or for little and they will be happy. Also, they do not have to buy new stuff, because they got it second-hand already, which spares the environment!

So by giving away your stuff you create more happiness for yourself, others and the environment! Win-win-win!

Who uses your old stuff?

Now I wouldn’t be writing this if I did not have some comments.

I’d like to use this beautiful quote:

“There is no away.”

The phrase ‘throwing stuff away’ is way too simple. Where your stuff goes when throwing it away depends on multiple things: Is it in good shape? Can it still be used? Can it be repaired or improved? Does someone want it? Will your stuff get to the person who wants it? If not, can it be recycled? Will that actually happen?

It’s too easy to think that other people will be happy with your stuff. In our stuff-filled culture, most people are used to choosing what they want – as opposed to accepting what is available in some second-hand store.

In my town many people go to second-hand stores, however, at the same time many people do not hesitate to buy cheap stuff in cheap stores. This often concerns stuff that is not regarded as important to begin with. The rationale is something like: ‘I want this irrelevant thing so I’ll just get it quickly and cheaply.’ People tend to not want to put more money or effort into stuff they do not value high anyway. However, apparently they value the stuff enough to still get it – for a few bucks.

Conscious consumption: it takes two to re-use

I regard being or becoming a conscious consumer as more important than getting rid of the stuff you already have.

For the stuff you already have, most of the impacts (positive and negative) have already occurred. Natural resources are extracted and transported, the items are put together in factories or else, the items are transported to re-sellers and finally to you. The use stage of a product generally omits less negative environmental impacts than the production stage.

Thus, when stuff is in your house, the environmental impacts are already in the past. Stuff sitting in your house likely has no impact anymore or only very little.

Everything you buy or obtain has been produced and has impacted the world. By buying or accepting free stuff, you encourage the producers to produce more of it. This goes for about anything, for low-value one-time-use stuff and for high-value sustainable stuff.

Every time you buy something you vote with your money. This is why I think that being a conscious consumer is far more important than engaging in ‘de-stuffing your house’.

Of course, re-using and recycling are important, but I think there should be more emphasize on the other end. There’s a total of six Rs to keep in mind:

Rethink

Reduce

Refuse

Repair

Re-use

Recycle

First, rethink what you (want to) buy, then reduce the amount of stuff you buy and refuse to buy stuff you do not actually need or want or stuff with a large negative impact. Repair stuff that’s broken so that you can use it still. Here you can drastically reduce the negative impacts of your consumption, through consuming less products, preferring high-quality products that will last longer, preferring products that can be recycled (avoid plastic) and choosing for products that are made in a better way: that have less negative or even positive effects on the local environment, on the global climate, on the producers (land and factory workers) and their living environments and livelihoods, and on animals.

Consumers have to engage in re-using and recycling through buying second-hand and recycled materials.

Re-use the stuff that’s already there and in the end recycle stuff that cannot be used in its current form anymore. The last two Rs are not only post-consumer Rs in which you let others re-use and recycle your stuff. As a consumer you can engage in re-using and recycling through buying second-hand and buying items that are made from recycled materials. This way you vote for re-using and recycling!

Re-use and recycling require conscious consumers.

I think this part of re-using and recycling needs to be emphasized. The ‘trend’ of ‘throwing stuff away’ may assume that others will do the re-using and recycling for you. I am afraid that this throwing-away rationale leads to people thinking that as long as they get rid of their old stuff, they don’t have tot take further responsibility.

Please take your responsibility as a consumer seriously. Use your money to vote for better production systems and for a sustainable future.

How to de-stuff properly

The idea of period-proof panties already intrigued me: they’re literally panties that can hold menstrual blood without all the possible negative effects. But now these panties in the new and first colour scarlet make me go wild!

Hiphugger period panties in scarlet (picture and panties by THINX)

Period panties are a product of THINX. And they are revolutionary! Okay, until now I used mine only twice and I am still getting used to it, but I hear positive reviews from friends. Plus: I am positive because mine fits like a charm, so I’m pretty convinced that my blood won’t run past it. (The latter happens with my moving panty liners, sadly.) So I feel safe wearing them! Also, the fabric, organic cotton, is firm (but soft!) so I do not expect it to loosen quickly over time. So durable they are!

So now I adore the beautiful one in the picture. I love my black bikini panties, but the pictured one has such a lovely colour! Much like my menstrual cup in Wild Cherry – they would make a great match. They could work together or alternate, you know. I think generally I am being drawn to this colour that symbolises femininity. (Oh, how come?)

THINX now has nine different panties available, which can hold different amounts of blood. They are also expanding with new products and I am very curious to see how and what they develop!

This post sounds a lot like advertisement. To justify and finish up: if period panties can replace one-time-use tampons and pads, if they last long, can save other panties from being spoiled by blood leakage and are comfortable and beautiful as well: that would be a huge win for the environment and human well-being! Both female and male well-being, I am certain. (See also my post on menstrual cups.)

Besides, I totally support THINX’ aim of breaking the period taboo. That’s much needed. And it’s why I write about period-related stuff every now and then. Gotta love our bodies and our flows!

Do you like ’em?

I’m also slightly obsessed with this top in nude. Different hue but similar vibe!

Every December I find myself not wanting to have to buy gifts. In addition, this year I also vowed to not order gifts online. I care too much for sustainability to carelessly buy whatever. Yes, making people happy is nice, but too often people don’t get much happier through receiving not-asked-for gifts.

People (should) know well what stuff they use and do not use and so what would contribute to their happiness; it is often impractical for family members and friends to interfere. There are exceptions, of course, but if you find yourself desperately searching for gifts, you’re not likely to end up gifting something worth giving (according to the receiver!).

We’re living on December 22 now, so you may be stressed out. Well, I have something for you to give your close friends and family members: a coupon for a massage bar of choice from LUSH!To be clear: I made it and it is not worth a thing, so no free massage bars for you here.

I do think it is a great gift, because: LUSH is a great company, selling purely vegetarian (mostly vegan!), hand-made, ethical and cruelty-free, often package-free, high-quality products. LUSH also actively campaigns against animal testing. (Massage bars visible on the coupon are vegan.)

Because: massage( bar)s can promote a healthy relationship with one’s body. They can be used by lover couples or by single lovers. In the case of couples one bar makes a fine present, no need to get two.

Giving the coupon allows people to choose their favourite bar themselves, which may increase appreciation of the gift. This also allows for them to be honest about not wanting a massage bar, since you did not already buy it (and thereby force it onto them really). If this happens, gracefully take it back. They likely appreciate your gesture and thoughtfulness and do not mean to offend you. You do not have to feel offended.

You may need a good non-awkward relationship with the people you give it to, for I can imagine not everyone will appreciate getting such a potentially intimate gift from everyone. On the other side, I do think it can also be a great conversation-starter. It can also open up taboos (about bodies and needs and such!) and improve relationships.

I want to be able to give such presents to the people I care about. Touch and intimacy are important for one’s well-being and I gladly contribute to that through gifting massage bars.

So I think it’s neat! Let me know if you appreciate it & if you decide to use it. I’d love to hear.

Happy holidays!

Available versions: English & Dutch. You can add text anywhere on the coupon, for example in the dashed empty bar space or on the back. Text could be your name(s), order date, website of LUSH (in your country), closest LUSH store or a (Christmas) greeting. You can also clip the coupon to a postcard with a personal message. For pros: add an actual, personal massage to the gift!

My family doesn’t read my blog – or do they?

LUSH has nothing to do with this post, they don’t even know I or this post exist. 🙂

I have come to learn that my judgement, intuition and wisdom are among the most valuable things I have to offer the world. Some time ago I described myself as ‘harmony-seeking quiet observer learning to speak loud and clear when needed’, which you may read below my blog posts. Earlier, in Space invader #1, I already wrote that I was learning to take up space. Now I am learning to speak my truth.

My self-description is so accurate: so to not disturb the current balance I would often retreat in silence. But now I have come to see that ‘the current balance’ is often a state of imbalance – my contributions are needed to restore actual balance!

One characteristic of spiritual growth or spiritual people is to become or be free of shyness, to be confident about speaking the truth. I have read this multiple times and I believe it is true. Being able to speak your truth is a quality to obtain through spiritual growth or personal development.

“Wise men say that rushing is violence and so is your silence when it’s rooted in compliance”Rising Appalachia in ‘Medicine’

This is similar to what I wrote earlier about taking up space in my post Space invader #1: the first insights. Whereas that post was mostly focused on physical space, this new post focuses on speaking your truth, which results from being able to take up space. I believe that learning to take up space is needed to be able to speak your truth.

In this post I will illustrate the importance of speaking your truth. Speaking your truth is important, not only to you but also to others and the world.

As stated, I have often been silenced by others or by myself. Like many people and mostly women, I have learned to be quiet, polite and compliant. My go-to method would always be to retreat. In my withdrawal, I did lots of analysing and ‘dissecting’ so to understand occurring situations and mostly occurring people. This behaviour served me quite well, for it resulted in (for me) great understanding of the world and people around me.

But now is the time to share my understanding with others and thereby change the world. And now these others don’t only include my usual peers but everyone.

I don’t mean to say that I know everything better than others. I do mean that all contributions are valuable and so are mine and yours. When people withhold from sharing their insights, they thereby actually limit growth of themselves and others.

This is explained and illustrated in the novel The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. Throughout this book nine ‘spiritual insights’ are explored, and being open and honest are integral parts of several insights. The main character tends to be aloof and insecure and therefore not share his thoughts with others, because he doesn’t regard them as important (oh how recognizable to me!). His ‘shyness’ obstructs the natural flow of the conversation, leading to awkward silences where could have been a lively, interesting conversation. As a result, the conversation partners miss out on knowledge and insights – and fun too.

Knowledge and insights can be brought to us through others. This makes perfect sense: we can all learn from each other, we actually do this all the time, and we can enhance each others learning processes. (There is more to this; this process works best if you maintain a ‘meditative state’ and direct energy flows in certain ways. I aimed to loosely illustrate this in the image above: you can lift each others energy or consciousness. Look up other sources about this, like The Celestine Prophecy or its Experiential Guide.)

Another illustration is the recent #metoo campaign, which totally shocked me. It was shocking to learn how many women have experienced harassment and assault and tricky to go back to my personal unprocessed feelings.

I personally recall two experiences in which a man assaulted me. I find it hard to judge these experiences. I tend to automatically add that ‘the assaults’ weren’t so bad, so to prevent people from worrying about me or feeling sorry for me. I now actually find my feelings about these occurrences ridiculous: I felt that I was supposed to hide such events and my feelings thereof so to not bother others. I felt shame, about being too trustful or too naive so that it happened, about apparently being ‘sexually attractive’ to these particular men.

The occurrence of such acts does have a huge impact and not only through these ‘incidents’, because they are in fact no incidents. These events and the apparent widespread misjudgement of the seriousness thereof are part of something bigger: of institutional sexism.

The #metoo campaign illustrates that women and other ‘minorities’ are often silenced and how such processes can occur in societies and in individuals. Awareness of these processes and of how they manifest in you are needed to transcend them and to empower yourself and others.

I believe that everything I experience is a reflection of our world (or universe) and our culture. In the assault cases, I assumed that these were my experiences with which I had to deal by myself. I decided to not bother others with it, so to not make it bigger. While there is sense to that rationale, it is also untrue. These assaults are not my problem alone. Most of all, they come forth of problems in the involved men. Their problems come forth of their perception of the world, which is influenced by their surroundings. Much like my perception is shaped by my surroundings. Thus, our general culture may as well be the main problem.

In this rationale, treating these assaults as ‘my problems only’ and handling them in solitude does not accurately respond to the situation or actual problem. This approach only affects me and others indirectly through my altered perception of the world. This approach does not actually solve the problem! And imagine if millions of women handle like this! We all take personal responsibility for these occurrences but do not fully recognize the involvement of other people and address them too.

This is what happened. All these women were processing these occurrences and the sexism they endure mostly in silence. This approach does not allow for enough support, because women do not share their experiences with each other and thereby cannot support each other. Also, this non-sharing leads to a distorted image of how many women are affected, which allows for too little recognition of the severity of the problem.

The bottom line: our voices are ever important. For us to be able to work on the problems in the world, we need to recognize the problems in ourselves and take them seriously, for they are a reflection of much larger problems in our world. Taking our personal problems seriously and knowing that we are not the only ones experiencing them allows us to talk about it: to support and be supported. These important conversations contribute to identifying and realizing solutions.

Have you ever heard of a problem only one person had?

I believe that ‘single problems’ do not exist. Problems that seem small are likely part of a bigger problem that manifests itself in many individuals. Thus, recognizing and working on your problems contributes to the happiness of others too! Through helping yourself and supporting others.

As a personal note and disclaimer I may mention that I am pretty introverted and I find it hard to adapt to groups of people, as I wrote before in Space invader #1 and in Introversion in social movements. However I am very strict about telling the truth. I am aloof too, like the main character of The Celestine Prophecy, but I practice being more straight-forward and saying the things I deem important for the other to hear, even though the person may not like to hear it at first.

This is a complex theme and much can be said. I choose to leave it like this for now (in 1,414 words, ha). If you wish to add stuff, please do. This post was pretty general, but I may write sequels about more specific ‘practices’, situations or issues related to this. So stay tuned to not miss out. 😉

This post features a drawing of my new shiny Tumblr art blog Ninaeace! The apparent credits aim to promote my blog, so race over there for some drawings/paintings!

The picture shows beautifully coloured bushes on the university campus!

This awesome activity can be performed at home and you only need tape to do it: cover up all unwanted brand logos and names in your house! This allows you to experience more peace and joy in your home.

Have you ever deliberately focused on all visible brand logos in your kitchen or bathroom? If you do so, you will likely find that there are plenty. Normally, they’re not too catchy or disturbing so you may not notice them consciously, however, they may distract you unconsciously! For example, every time you use the fridge, your brain may register the fridge’s brand name. And not only the fridge’s, but the brand names of all kitchen equipments! And what about the sink, toilet and shower? That poor brain of yours, wasting energy on registering stuff you don’t even want!

The solution? Get rid of those silly advertisements in your house! Actually removing them may be impossible or cause damage. So the preferred option is to cover the brand names with tape! As stated, doing so is a very fun activity. Besides, I find it to be very nourishing too. It’s lovely to see how the brand logos gradually disappear from your sight and how this actually allows for more tranquillity.

We used tape with flowers, cats and sheep, but you can choose! Using funny, colourful tapes like we did may bring more chaos to your home, but I personally do not perceive it as such. Seeing the tapes makes me happy and I like it! It even makes me feel like a rebel, more than plain tapes would. (And I could use a bit more rebel at times!) Nevertheless, I assume that many others would find these tapes disturbing, so please do what suits you best. Note that non see-through tape is best for this purpose.

Also funny: you may get surprised by the process of ‘discovering’ and then covering logos taking several weeks – these bastards can be very subtle and well-hidden!

That said, I hope that through reading this article you became enthusiastic about ‘the practice’. Another option is that you became hyper-aware of the promotion in your house and you will not be able to un-see the previously unseen logos, and soon the logos will drive you mad. I am sorry if I contributed to ruining your peace of mind. However, remember that consciousness is needed to transcend! So, reclaim your power and fight the companies that use your house and brain as their billboards, cover ’em up! And don’t forget to enjoy!

I urge you to go see The Goddess Project, if you haven’t seen it yet. I am tremendously positive and enthusiastic about it and I know why.

The movie is a compilation of the most powerful pieces of conversation the film makers had with over 100 women in the US. I am so happy this documentary is made. The things that are said are SO enormously important for everyone to hear, to know. The themes that are addressed in the documentary are SO real and important.

The movie is very moving. I cried at least three times while watching it. I cried from grief, from sadness and anger, from understanding, from inspiration and from celebration. I cried from love.

I will definitely watch The Goddess Project again. I wish for everyone to see it. I wish for everyone to find their way in this life and in this world, and for everyone to find support and be supported. This movie absolutely contributes to the sense of support. We are in this together, peepz. ❤

You can also organise a screening of The Goddess Project. I already contacted the local movie theatres about screening it. One theatre was already considering having it, so that may happen, and otherwise I'll organise a 'special screening' in collaboration with them. 🙂 Let's make it happen!

PS I may be experiencing some extra happy hormones right now, because I just gave the final presentation of my MSc thesis! I’ve been working on the thesis for SO long that this feels like an enormous liberation. Thank you for bearing with me.

There appears to be this trend of infusing our homes with natural materials and items, so to counter the hardening, digitalising world. I can’t say much about trends, but this is an interesting development! Hopefully this is not just a temporary hype of consuming mass-produced nature-like products – and posting pictures thereof on social media and blogs. I hope that we Western people are getting back to nature, for real.

Anyhow, here are some natural or nature-helping things that I am happy about having entered my home.

Home-dried apples, from our new drying machine with which veggies and fruits can be dried so to preserve them. We haven’t tried much, but I suspect apples to remain my favourites. (BTW, it is possible to build drying machines outside, so to use sunlight. That is so dry.) Also in the picture: harvested pumpkin and patisson seeds, and ‘stew pears’.

‘Capers’ of Tropaeolum majus from our garden. This plant goes by many names (garden nasturtium, Indian cress and monks cress) and is incredibly edible (flowers, leafs, roots, seeds!). The unripe seeds can be preserved in vinegar and used as one would use capers. They also have a really nice shape: they cling together with three seeds and they look kinda spirally.

dried apples & seeds

Tropaeolum majus capers

sprouting machine

KeepCup

Sprouting machine! I’ve been mentioning edible sprouts a lot here, and now I have to top if off: there are awesome jar constructions available so to make home-sprouting easier! This one is from GERMLINE and the lid is designed to keep the jar tilted, so to drain the water from the jar. This is a lot easier than having to improvise some cheese cloth or else. (In the jar in the picture are lentil sprouts.)

KeepCup re-usable cup! This brand creates and sells re-usable cups to bring to places where ‘normally’ drinks are served in paper of plastic one-time-use cups, so to decrease the environmental impact of ‘to go’ drinks! I’ve been ‘waiting’ for such a cup with lid to cross my path – and there it was: a Design Your Own KeepCup stand! So I get to choose the colours myself, how nice! It was quite an undertaking really, because of the many options. But ain’t it pretty?! I see that you can also choose the colours yourself if you order from the website.

Not in the pictures but relevant (for me): (birthday) pumpkin pie, beautiful colourful forest in autumn, stewed pears, apple sauce, the wines and ciders my boyfriend is making, the current looks of our garden (with loads of mulch!).